NEWBERG, Ore. - Breaking open the fifth game with an early 7-0 run, the Whitman College Missionaries took an insurmountable 9-2 lead and went on to a 3-2 victory (13-30, 32-30, 30-25, 33-35, 15-11) over the George Fox University Bruins in a Northwest Conference women's volleyball match Friday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.

George Fox was the team that got off to a fast start to open the match. Elizabeth Anderson put down a kill to tie the first game 2-2, then served 10 unanswered points that included three aces for a 12-2 lead, and the Bruins were never threatened again. A service ace by Jennifer Panico made it 18-8 and the Bruins led by double figures the rest of the way. The Bruins hit .333 in the game to a minus-.025 for the Missionaries, but that margin proved to be an aberration, as the remainder of the match was close.

Game two featured nine ties, although the Bruins led only three times by a single point. Whitman broke a 9-9 tie on a Bruin set error and never trailed again, stretching their lead to as much as eight points at 21-13 before the Bruins fought their way back. After George Fox twice tied the game at 29-29 and 30-30, Lydia Hayes hammered down back-to-back winners for Whitman.

The Missionaries trailed only once in game three, falling behind 16-15 on a kill by the Bruins' Whitney Kolb. Back-to-back kills by Rosa Brey broke a 19-19 deadlock and ignited a 7-0 Whitman run that put the Missionaries firmly in control, and the Bruins got no closer than three points the rest of the game.

George Fox fell behind 14-7 in the fourth game before coach Steve Grant inserted reserves Sarah Crossfield and Ashley Sheller as hitters and Ali Lefebvre at setter, hoping to light a fire under the struggling Bruins. The ploy worked as Crossfield contributed three blocks, Sheller had a game-high four kills, and Lefebvre passed out seven assists, sparking a 10-3 run that brought the Bruins into a 17-17 tie.

A block by Anderson and Jessica Morrison gave the Bruins a 28-24 lead, but the Missionaries answered with five straight points, capped by a kill from Brey, for a 29-28 lead. Anderson blocked an attack for a 29-29 tie, and Whitman then took the lead and served for match point three straight times, only to have the Bruins knot it each time. George Fox took its first overtime lead 33-32 on an ace by Jenna Dohren, but a Bruin attack error kept the game going. The Bruins then finished the game off on a kill by Anderson and a surprise set-attack by Lefebvre, her first kill of the season, that fell untouched behind the front row.

In game five, a Bruin attack error put the Missionaries ahead for good 3-2, and Hayes served the next six winning points, including two aces and a pair of kills by Brey. The Bruins battled back within three at 14-11 on a Whitman attack error, but they returned the favor with an error on the final point to end the match.

The Bruins out-hit the Missionaries .146 to .099, out-dug them 117-107, and out-blocked them 21 to 9, but the Missionaries held an edge in total kills, 63-61, and in service aces, 19-10. Anderson led the Bruins with 14 kills, Panico added 13, and Morrison had 11, while Amy Batchelder had 43 assists and Lefebvre 9 in limited action. Dohren had a match-high 32 digs, Panico 24, and Batchelder 17. Anderson, who is third all-time in blocks at George Fox, tied her career high with 14 (5 solo, 9 assists).

Brey led all hitters with 21 kills for the Missionaries, with Leslie Compean adding 14 and Hayes 12. Kristan Brown had 51 assists. Kaelyn Merkel had 31 digs and a match-high 5 aces, while Compean added 17 digs, Brown 16, Kelsie Butts 15, and Brey 13. Brey also had 7 blocks.

George Fox (8-8, NWC 3-6) hosts Whitman University Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Whitman (9-7, NWC 5-4) goes to Pacific University Saturday for a 5:00 p.m. contest.